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It took three matches for ATK to break their poor home run record of the Indian Super League season 5. The home team got the better of Chennaiyin FC by 2-1 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday.
As ATK got their first win at home this season, more pressure piled on the defending champions as they slumped to their fourth defeat in five matches this season.
Chennaiyin FC had a fair share of the ball, got more shots than ATK but failed to score one more goal, which could’ve earned at least a point.
This was ATK’s second win this season and they entered top four on the table for the first time with seven points out of five matches. Chennaiyin FC remained at the bottom with just one point and it needs a miracle to revive their campaign.
Kalu Uche, who got himself in the starting line-up again after coming back from a calf injury, put his team ahead with a superb placement.
Karanjit Singh’s goal-kick was headed towards the opponent half by Gerson Viera in the half-line and Uche, who was standing not far from the 18-yard box, drove the ball past a hapless Karanjit with his first touch.
ATK got their second through a free-kick in the 14th minute when Manuel Lanzarote found John Johnson inside the box and Scottish player coolly finished it off on the second post.
Chennaiyin FC put one back within three minutes when Francisco Fernandes put some brilliant skill to speed past Balwant Singh and his pin-point cross superbly headed by Carlos Salom.
Let us look at the five talking points of the match:
#5 Gregory’s questionable strategy
John Gregory certainly knows how to win a match. He always fields a line-up which attacks relentlessly, whatever is the situation of the match.
He started with Salom in the upfront but curiously benched Jeje Lalpekhlua. Jeje certainly has an impressive record against ATK and he always thrives for goals.
So putting him on the bench meant Chennaiyin FC was weaker on the attacking third and Salom couldn’t find an able partner who would complement him.
Another questionable omission was Gregory Nelson. The Dutch winger knows how to keep the ball and avoid his marker.
He creates chances on a regular basis and could score goals when the team need. Nelson was introduced in the second half and he took a bullet head towards the goal, which luckily saved by Arindam Bhattacharya.
As supporters are already calling for his head, Gregory now needs a miracle to revive his team’s campaign.
#4 Johnson scores, concedes
During his time with Bengaluru FC, John Johnson always provided a neat and clean performance. After changing loyalties, his performance remained the same.
Johnson is not a defender who loves to score goals. He focuses more on maintaining the defensive solidity.
Though the former Middlesbrough player scored in three consecutive games after joining Bengaluru FC, he scored only once in the remaining 83 matches. For ATK, he has found the net in his fifth match, which proved to be the winner.
Johnson was marked by Isaac and Calderon but he rose above everyone to put on ball home safely.
However, within four minutes, ATK conceded due to him. When Francisco made that run, Johnson marked Salom but couldn’t hold him till the last moment as the Spaniard reduced the margin with a perfect header.
Johnson almost conceded another for his team when Salom got his poor clearance but only missed the target by a whisker.
Johnson is a good defender. So the mistakes he made are only a part of the game. One can hope that he will come out freshly in the next match.
#3 Defenders let Chennaiyin FC down once again
Chennaiyin FC have produced some horrible defending since the start of the season. They have lost four matches and one of the major reason for it certainly is their defending.
In their match against NorthEast United FC, Chennaiyin FC was leading 3-1 in the first half. Any team, with this scoreline, should concentrate more on defending. Chennaiyin FC didn’t. They conceded two quick goals within the first half and another in the second to lose the match.
One of the main reason behind this capitulation is the off-form of Eli Sabia and Inigo Calderon. The latter took more responsibility in the defence last year and made an impact in Chennaiyin FC’s title-winning campaign. But this year, he hasn’t found the rhythm yet.
Before Uche’s goal, Calderon moved on the right side during the goal-kick. That created acres of space in the central defence and let alone Uche, any player would’ve scored that goal.
Chennaiyin FC defenders were not in their position many times during the match, which left a hole in their defence.
Moreover, there were no central defenders who would block the move as Raphale Augusto and Anirudh Thapa was playing more on the opponent’s half. Eli Sabia was wasteful throughout the match.
To bring success, Chennaiyin FC need more defensive solidity.
#2 ATK got back their scoring ability
ATK coach Steve Coppell realised his mistake soon and brought back Lanzarote in midfield. He deployed Balwant Singh and Kalu Uche on a rotational basis and that gave Lanzarote more space to play.
He created room for the strikers and feeds them balls.
For the first two games, ATK failed to score goals. Even they were not putting enough pressure on their opponent’s box. It happened only because Manuel Lanzarote was playing as a lone striker as he couldn’t get any kind of assistance from his midfielders.
Lanzarote has brilliant vision. So whenever he gets the ball on his feet, he looks for the strikers and provides difficult passes.
During the free-kick in the 14th minute, he could’ve scored directly but found Johnson in a better position and crossed it to him. He provided a superb pass to Uche later on but the Nigerian’s effort was brilliantly saved by Karanjit Singh.
Uche missed the last match due to injury but he showed what he is capable of on his return. He was a constant threat to the Chennaiyin FC defence. He likes to keep himself on a scoring position and always tries to make the opportunity count.
#1 Chennaiyin FC sloppy in the attacking third
The league table will show Chennaiyin FC at the bottom, but it is not a true reflection of their effort. Against Delhi Dynamos in their previous match, Chennaiyin took 17 shots but failed to find a goal. Against ATK, they took one more and their only goal wasn’t enough to avoid the defeat.
Looking carefully at their performance, one would see the intent among the players. They kept the possession, created more chances, played more passes but couldn’t finish.
Chennaiyin FC dominated the midfield against ATK with Raphael Augusto at the centre of their attack. But the wasteful approach in front of goal made things difficult.
Jeje is having a poor form this season and wasn’t introduced on Friday. But his replacement Carlos Salom couldn’t turn things either.
True, he scored with a brilliant header. But he missed a couple of chances which should’ve converted. Isaac and Thoi tried to create as many chances as they can but dispossessed within the box.
There are many areas that need to be looked into and John Gregory will surely have to scratch his head many times to find a solution.
